M4 Newport Relief Road given go-ahead

[PeterA5145]

I'm sure there's an existing thread on this but I can't readily find it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-28333835

Opposed by the usual suspects of Friends of the Earth, of course

[rhyds]

Opposed by the usual suspects of Friends of the Earth, of course

Because the M4 is perfectly fine as it is of course, and electric cars don't take up any space on roads...

[mapboy]

Are the any detailed maps of the route, better than the basic one shown on the BBC article?

[Truvelo]

Wasn't this already built in a cut down form as the southern distributor or has the full motorway scheme been resurrected minus the tolls?

[wrinkly]

No press release online yet.

[Vierwielen]

Are the any detailed maps of the route, better than the basic one shown on the BBC article?

This map gives more detail.

[Truvelo]

I'm not happy with the junction layout at the eastern end. The lack of freeflow for the existing M4 and M48 is something that can only happen in this country

[si404]

Are the any detailed maps of the route, better than the basic one shown on the BBC article?

This map gives more detail.

They've changed Rogiet junction now, integrating the B4245 and ending both the M48 and the Newport bypass at an at-grade roundabout, linked to another at-grade roundabout at the M4 (if CBRD was still running, that's a bad junction right there!)

[roadtester]

I'm not happy with the junction layout at the eastern end. The lack of freeflow for the existing M4 and M48 is something that can only happen in this country

That's terrible. I'm almost speechless.

[mapboy]

I am in complete disbelief at the abhorrent mess that design is for J23. I'm sorry but that is appalling; how on earth did it manage to get into the final design?

[Steven]

I am in complete disbelief at the abhorrent mess that design is for J23. I'm sorry but that is appalling; how on earth did it manage to get into the final design?

They can't actually be serious. Surely the M48 isn't going to terminate by crashing into a roundabout??

[echowarning]

The roundabout at the terminus of the M48 will cause massive inconvenience to the 63 motorists who use it on a daily basis.

What?

The last time I used the M48, I actually to count the number of other vehicles because I couldn't believe how quiet it was.

[si404]

As a total aside to the mess at Rogiet - what is the A455 still doing there? The map has the A4810, after all.

Surely the M48 isn't going to terminate by crashing into a roundabout??

No, it's a roundabout in the middle of it, surely

I wonder if some downgrading is on the cards.

The M48 crashing into a roundabout isn't the big problem, the current M4 crashing into the same roundabout is the big problem.

Edit: I can't believe we didn't see this, but

If implemented, the draft Plan would lead to a motorway being built to the south of Newport, reclassification of the existing M4 between Magor and Castleton as a non-motorway, a new link between the M48 and B4245 and provision of cycle and walking friendly infrastructure.

So yes, it's the M48 just ending at a roundabout 200 yards from the M4...

[Truvelo]

I'm sure the plans for the original toll road scheme at J23 had a similar layout to the J29 area. The M48 is a useful diversion route should there be any incidents closing the Second Severn Crossing and I am one of the 63 motorists who use the M48 as it's a nicer drive than the M4, especially east of the M49 where the D2M section suffers from elephant racing.

[mapboy]

Quite so Truvelo! I am another of the 63 who prefer to use the M48 as the Severn Crossing, being quieter makes it far more pleasant. As you say, imagine the queues when the Second Crossing is closed...

Why do they need to downgrade the motorway? To me the logical solution would be to re-designate the former M4 and A48(M) as the M48, with a junction à la M61 J2 where J23 currently is.

[Truvelo]

I never thought of that: the former route of the M4 could become a continous M48 from Aust to St Mellons. Also if the Llantrisant Radial had been built in the 1970s you could then extend the M48 further west to M4 J33.

[roadtester]

The M48 is a useful diversion route should there be any incidents closing the Second Severn Crossing

Good point - but surely the proposed junction layout will severely limit its ability to be used as a diversion when the second crossing is closed.

[hoagy_ytfc]

So when the old bit gets de-motorwayified, all the new managed motorway gubbins gets removed?

That was a bit of a waste.

[gepree68]

Here's the diagram from the earlier (2007 I think) plan.

It is simply so much better than the embarrassment they have come up with now.

UPDATE: I have also found the plan of M4 J29 which is rather different to what they have come up with now.

[AAndy]

Serious questions about the Welsh government's decision to build a £1bn M4 relief road around Newport have been raised by an assembly committee in a report due to be published next week.

Transport Minister Edwina Hart gave the project the go-ahead on Wednesday.

However, a report by the cross-party environment committee expresses "grave concerns".

Mrs Hart has also been criticised by opposition parties and several Labour colleagues for the decision's timing.

The planned route will run between Junctions 23 and 29 and include a new bridge and is seen by some as the answer to crippling traffic congestion into south Wales.

But there have been concerns about the impact on a local nature reserve, as well as calls for serious consideration of other options such as upgrading existing roads.

The committee has been taking evidence from different organisations and BBC Wales has now obtained a draft copy of its report.

Last September the government put forward three new road options out to public consultation.

In December the transport expert Prof Stuart Cole put forward a fourth proposal - the so-called blue route - that would involve improving existing roads.

The committee's report highlights a series of concerns about the government's proposal:

Doubt over whether the three new road options were different enough from each other to meet planning regulations
A suggestion that environmental concerns raised by Natural Resources Wales were not given due weight
Concern that traffic projections are unreliable
The cost of the project "remains unclear" and the source of funding "uncertain".

In June, the committee chair Alun Ffred Jones wrote to Mrs Hart asking her to answer a series of questions the committee had about the proposals.

She refused to do that and has now made her final decision to press ahead with the black route plans between Magor and Castleton.

Mrs Hart said it had been "carefully considered".

The committee says that if she could not answer the questions it raises, the consultation process may need to be restarted.

THE 'BLUE ROUTE' OPTION

• This would involve an upgrade of the A48 Newport Southern Distributor Road (SDR) and the former steelworks road

• Roads would be re-constructed as a two-lane, dual carriageway at motorway or expressway standard

• It would be widened to a three-lane motorway in future if needed

• The route would follow a line between the Magor Junction 23A to the east of Newport to Tredegar Park Junction 28 to the west of the city

The report concludes: "It is difficult to conclude on the basis of current information that a convincing case for the long-term value for money of this potential investment has yet been made."

After Wednesday's announcement, four Labour AMs - Mick Antoniw, Julie Morgan, Julie James and Jenny Rathbone - criticised the decision on environmental grounds and because of its timing.

Plaid Cymru AM Rhun ap Iorwerth said Mrs Hart had shown "sheer contempt" for the environment committee.

Liberal Democrat environment spokeswoman Eluned Parrott called the decision a "huge mistake".

And Shadow Transport Minister Byron Davies gave the announcement a qualified welcome but said it failed to take environmental concerns into account or provide relevant detail.

Responding to the report seen by BBC Wales, a spokesperson for the Welsh government said: "We do not comment on leaked documents. The Minister will read the report when it is published next week."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-28338196